The FINANCIAL — Georgia’s centuries-old jewellery traditions will once again be revived by Jewellery Company Zarapxana, which is creating a brand new collection based on the theme of love.
This time the inspiration for the new collection comes from the Georgian poem – the Knight in the Panther’s Skin. The collection will have three lines: the Tarieli and Nestan-Darjani line, the Avtandili and Tinatini line and the Fridoni and Fatman-Khatuni line – the main characters from the Georgian poem by Shota Rustaveli.
The new collection will be on sale from the first quarter of 2014.
“As its practice, Zarapxana carefully studies customer’s interests and wishes, takes fashion trends into account, and then as a result creates different kinds of exclusive products specifically tailored for its customers,” said Dimitri Khachidze, CEO at Zarapxana. “The new collection based on the Knight in the Panther’s Skin theme is a novel idea designed for customers. The collection will be made in honour of the poem’s hero characters. It will be a very distinguished collection. We are doing our best to offer this collection to customers at reasonable prices,” he added.
Jewellery Company Zarapxana came up with a similarly original idea a year ago, when it created a bird themed collection in collaboration with designer Irakli Nasidze. Zarapxana produces not only jewellery, but also souvenirs, badges and even does individual commissions. “Our business is so broad that no other company can compete with us. Zarapxana holds the largest share of the market,” Khachidze said. Currently the company offers eight types of collection: the Kolkhetian Legend, Rooms Collection, Maia Shaishmelashvili Collection, Sea Collection, Irakli Nasidze Collection, Mtskheta Collection, Collection of Natural Stones, and the Pearl Collection.
The prices vary from GEL 63 to GEL 7,645 for collection pieces which are currently available at Zarapxana stores.
Zarapxana is planning to expand its network to Azerbaijan and open a store in Baku. Currently the company is involved in corporate and retail sales in Azerbaijan and intends to develop these directions further.
“Zarapxana is already a well-known brand in Azerbaijan. People in Azerbaijan love gold much more than Georgians do. Today we have a small share of the Azebaijanian market, but plan to develop further yet.
As for Georgia, we are not going to open any additional stores here. Zarapxana had network branches in Akhaltsikhe, Marneuli, Rustavi and Zugdidi, but closed them.
The reason for that is that people living in these areas are still under soviet influences, for example when people used to compare the price of a piece of jewellery to the price offered by the gold exchange. They do not take into consideration that the price is set in accordance with the quality and design of the whole product. So it seemed that Zarapxana’s prices were not acceptable for them,” said Khachidze.
Currently, Zarapxana is present in Tbilisi, Batumi and Kutaisi.
Zarapxana will start producing coins from 2014 which will be similar to the gift card principle. “Customers will decide whether they want to keep the coin as it is or to exchange it for a piece of jewellery of corresponding value. The idea behind the initiative is that very often it is difficult for customers to choose a proper gift for another person. These coins will make it easier for them to provide a truly appreciated gift for a person they care about,” he said.
Q. 2013 was a difficult year for many companies due to the economic slowdown in the country. The jewellery market is always very sensitive to economic instability. How did Zarapxana survive the crisis?
A. Despite the fact that the level of economic activity was not high this current year, Zarapxana maintained its market positions and we are completing the year with satisfactory performance results. In general the jewellery business is very sensitive and when the economy is not growing properly in the country, this business cannot gain the desired profit. Zarapxana’s management overcame all the challenges they faced. I would assess their work positively. Another thing is that the type of product which we sell is not a priority for customers in general. People buy it after they already have everything else. When the economic situation in the country is not good it always impacts on the sales indicators of a company like Zarapxana. I do hope that the economic conditions will be much better next year and accordingly Georgian customers will be more active in sales.
The good thing is that, contrary to retail sales, the individual service department had growth sales results. Individual service means that according to a client’s own design and concept or with the help of our professional advisors the client is able to create a desired piece of jewellery or make some alterations to one of our initial designs. Compared to the previous year the realization of Zarapxana production has increased in this specific department. In the coming years we expect better results.
There was a slowdown in corporate sales as well due to the same reason as there was in retail sales; our partner companies avoid spending much money and allocated fewer budgets to making bespoke orders. When the economic situation is not stable the business community prefers not to be active, generally speaking.
The most active sales were recorded in the first quarter of 2013. Then the company maintained a stable position but during the last two months we did not have an advantageous position. I do not like to link such a situation to politics but perhaps the poor sales indicators were as a result of the recent presidential elections.
Q. How have fashion trends in Georgia changed and what is the most popular jewellery with Georgian customers?
A. Wedding rings make up the largest portion of our sales statistics. Religious pieces of jewellery are also very much in demand. Recently, modern, non-standard jewellery pieces have become more popular. For this reason Zarapxana created its Rooms Collection together with young designers. Georgians love yellow gold mostly as opposed to westerners who prefer white gold generally. Yellow gold with a single diamond is the most popular type of ring with Georgian customers. The most popular designs of wedding rings are gradually changing. People are starting to make subtle changes and choose facet wedding rings, or prefer those that have a distinguished shape. But Georgian customers do not generally like wedding rings with gemstones.
Q. What are Jewellery Company Zarapxana’s warranty terms and conditions?
A. In general, quality and guarantee is the advantage that Zarapxana has over its competitors. The company provides customers with a 12 month guarantee. The company’s warranty includes repairing jewellery or replacing it in the event of there being a manufacturing defect (a manufacturing defect established as a result of expertise or lab report). If, after establishing a manufacturing defect, the jewellery is subject to repair, the company will cover the cost of said repair. If the jewellery is not subject to repair, the company will replace the damaged product.
When customers pay a lot they are entitled to being provided with proper quality.
Q. Zarapxana recently implemented the new service Tax Free, which was designed to increase the number of foreigner customers visiting your chain. How does this service work?
A. The Kutaisi and Batumi stores are mostly visited by tourists. We are seeing an increase in Russian and Ukrainian tourists. Georgian-style jewellery is attractive to foreigners. In general the Tax Free service is very useful for foreign customers. This service is interesting for tourists who buy our products. If a purchase will be more than GEL 200 they will be able to get a refund when they decide to leave the country. Upon leaving they can get a refund of up to 18 percent, which is the rate of VAT in Georgia of the product bought.
Q. Georgian people have a special attitude towards gold. They invest in gold. How profitable is this type of investment in your opinion?
A. Investment of any kind is linked to risks. Nowadays the price of gold has fallen sharply in the world. Georgia more or less maintains stable prices of gold. For example, the price of gold fell on world markets, but not in Georgia. One ounce of gold now costs USD 1,200 while its price used to be USD 1,700. If people buy gold when it is cheap and sell it when its price rises, then it is a really good investment. In general, in the long-term perspective it is the least risky investment. Gold devaluation is impossible. But times have changed. Whereas before people used to buy gold as an investment nowadays they prefer to choose a design and wear the jewellery every day.
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